Impasse

• Size: 17" x 15"
• Medium: wax-based media (oil pastel, artist crayon, colored pencil)
• Surface: Canvas primed with Art Spectrum Colourfix Supertooth primer
• Technique: Icarus Drawing Board
• Mounted on a 17" x 15" x 3/4" Ampersand Claybord, varnished and framed
• To see how I mount and varnish my artwork, please refer to my post on Glassless Framing.

Crescendo

Title: Crescendo

• Size: 17" x 10"
• Medium: wax-based media (oil pastel, artist crayon, colored pencil)
• Surface: Art Spectrum Colourfix Supertooth Board
• Technique: Icarus Drawing Board
• Mounted on a 17" x 10" x 3/4" Ampersand Claybord, varnished and framed
• To see how I mount and varnish my artwork, please refer to my post on Glassless Framing.

River Pebbles, No. 10

Title: River Pebbles, No. 10

• Size: 5" x 5"
• Medium: Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils (Verithin and Softcore), Caran d'Ache Luminance Colored Pencils, Caran d'Ache Neocolor I and II, Olbein Oil Pastel.
• Miscellaneous: Clay Shaper, Tortillions & Paper Stumps, Prismacolor Colorless Blender.
• Surface: Art Spectrum Colourfix Supertooth Board
• Technique: Icarus Drawing Board
• Mounted on a 5" x 5" Ampersand Claybord (2" thick) and framed.
• To see how I mount and varnish my artwork, please refer to my post on Glassless Framing.

For techniques used in this artwork, please see blog post River Pebbles, No.3 - Melting Artist Crayons

Fire and Ice

18" x 18" - Wax-based Media (Colored Pencil, Artist Crayon, and Oil Pastel)
Created with the Icarus Drawing Board.

This is my latest work in my pebbles series - a very abstract approach to nature. I took this picture in my studio and I've had the hardest time balancing the colors correctly. I'm fairly satisfied with the results but as soon as I get a professional scan, I'll decide if this image will need to be replaced.

I've had a lot of fun with this project, the subject of which is a group of pebbles I collected on Moonstone Beach in Cambria.

It will be my entry for Explore This! 7, a Colored Pencil Society juried online exhibition which will be on display on the CPSA website for one full year, from February 1, 2011 through January 31, 2012.

Edit (10/24/10): you can read about the specific technique I used for this artwork on a previous post titled A Shortcut for Details.

I'm working on a very detailed pebble piece. I'm combining Prismacolor colored pencil, Neopastel oil pastels & Neocolor artist crayons on Colourfix paper. I'm eager to show you a small (2"x2"), abstract close-up of my painting (18"x18") and explain the shortcuts I've taken to get around all the details.

1. Photo Cropping

2. Line Drawing

1. This is a cropping of  the original photo. Even though it's very blurry you can still see all the intricate details.

2. On my line drawing I focus on the essential lines and not the confusing details.

3. Blocking-in Colors

4. Melting

3. On the cool zone I block-in the colors with a combination of oil pastels and artist crayons.

4. I move my artwork to the warm zone of the Icarus board (high temperature) and melt all the colors with a color shaper. The waxy pigments settle into the hills and valleys of the paper, leaving plenty of texture for further layering.

5. Preparing Eraser

6. Lifting Color

5. I'm preparing my Sakura battery-operated eraser by cleaning and flattening the tip on sand paper.

6. Here you can see how easily the pigment is lifted from the surface. By using the flat edge of the eraser point, I can achieve a very fine line.

7. Lifting Color

8. Finishing

7. I lift all the waxy pigments until the white of the paper shows through.

8. I can now develop the colors and values and finish the details with colored pencils. During this phase I lower the Icarus Board temperature to a medium setting.

This shortcut allowed me to work from "large" to "small" without getting bogged down in details too early in the process.

Blending artist crayon or oil pastel with colored pencil can be broken down into four steps.

• Step 1 - Layering artist crayon on the cool zone
• Step 2 - Melting artist crayon on the warm zone with a color shaper
• Step 3 - Layering colored pencil on the cool zone using side of pencil
• Step 4 - Blending artist crayon and colored pencil with a paper stump

1. Layering AC

2. Melting AC

3. Layering CP

4. Blending AC and CP

In the two examples below, you can see that this process can be reduced to two simple steps. While the colored pencil is blending with the crayon, it is also functioning as a melting tool.

This is a nice shortcut that works well for small areas. When blending large areas, I prefer to first melt the crayon and then layer and blend the colored pencil.

1. Layering AC

2. Melting and Blending

As you can see on step #1, it’s impossible to layer a hard medium over a softer one. The pink colored pencil can only make indentations and scratches over the light blue artist crayon. Here is where the Icarus Drawing Board can help you.

On step #2 the thick layer of crayon is thinned out on the warm zone with a color shaper or a gray paper stump. I use the side, not the point of the paper stump and make small circles until I'm left with a thin, saturated layer of color.

After moving the paper to the cool zone, I’m now able to easily layer colored pencil over artist crayon (see step #3).

#1 - Layering Colored Pencil Over Artist Crayon or Oil Pastel

#2 - Layering Colored Pencil Over Artist Crayon or Oil Pastel

#3 - Layering Colored Pencil Over Artist Crayon or Oil Pastel

Above and Below

13" x 26" - Wax-based Media (Colored Pencil, Artist Crayon, and Oil Pastel)
Created with the Icarus Drawing Board